So there's considerable skepticism out there over if that actually means anything. Particularly with the doubt cast since then from Tecmo's European office over Twitter, the region that actually received Fatal Frame 2 the last time out (And thought they were getting Fatal Frame 4 for a time, before Nintendo's European office changed their minds and cancelled a localization), things don't look too hopeful.

If Europe isn't slated for it, that wouldn't appear to bode too well that NOA will take it on after passing over two fine Wii releases (One of which was fully localized). Hopefully they've had a change of heart, though.

It bothers me that Nintendo would actively pursue this franchise, only to kill it in almost every region of the world! It makes zero sense to me.

It's not like they have a massive abundance of games coming down the pipeline. Sure, some of their upcoming downloadable games look fun, ala 90's Arcade Racer, but at a time when developers are LEAVING them, you'd figure they'd step up to try to ensure more games make it to their console! Even their own games aren't selling like sure fire blockbusters, at least not on the Wii U. Have you looked at Mario 3D World's numbers?

Crap like this irritates me. Had the franchise stayed with Sony, we likely would have had Fatal Frame 4, the remake of 2, 5, etc. Nintendo seems like they've snagged this franchise up for NO reason!

While I'll begrudgingly support them if this happens (Although I'll seriously consider importing a Wii U from the UK if it gets a retail release over there), I'm going to do an awful lot of whining if paying $60 on the eShop is my only option. There are very few franchises where I'd ever even consider such a thing. Happily, at least I have the storage room for it since I bet I have at least 25 gigs free right now (This will be a ~16 GB download).

Sadly, their idiocy is likely just going to convince them that they were right all along to ignore this franchise.

First, they localize a stupid DS spin-off that stunk, for their first attempt at it instead of one of the Wii games that people actually wanted. And now they're not only going to make sure that both arms are tied behind its back with this release by all but ignoring it, but now they're going to lop them off by making it be an eShop exclusive.

Then, they're going to wonder why the fans that spoke out so much over the years ignored this one...

"Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, co-developed by Koei Tecmo Games, launches exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U on Oct. 22 for $49.99, just in time for Halloween. Players can download this free-to-start game and play the prologue, chapter 1 and most of chapter 2 for free. The full version of the game can be purchased as DLC directly from the Nintendo eShop or via the in-game menu."

Would it really have hurt to release this as a physical copy in the U.S.? I think the PS2 had more releases scheduled in a year, 5 years after the PS3 came out, than what the Wii U is getting this year. It is terrible.